The Federal Budget has allocated $14.3 million over three years to expand the Teach Remote Program, an initiative of the National Alliance of Remote Indigenous Schools (NARIS).

 

NARIS consists of 170 schools from Western Australia, the Northern Territory, South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales, enrolling around 16,500 Indigenous students.

 

The Teach Remote Program is focused on establishing a remote teacher network and standardising professional development for teachers in core subjects relating to the teaching of Indigenous students in remote communities.

 

Under Stage 2 of the program, the Government will provide support for:

  • salary supplements of $10,000 in the first year and $20,000 in the second year to attract and retain up to 200 teachers; and
  • one‑off payments of $1,000 to teachers to undertake professional development training in best practice in working with Indigenous students in remote sittings.

 

The Government will also provide additional funding to NARIS to maintain existing streams of work and to undertake new work such as resolving teacher registration and mobility issues.